String
by Ablivion
Summary: Dean is used to screwing up, it comes with the territory of being the Lunatic Fringe. What he isn't used to, is Roman being so mad at him. After Roman overhears something Dean never intended him to to hear, Dean has to figure out how to convince Roman that his words were just that, words, and nothing more. Can a simple string be the key to save his relationship? Ambreigns.
1. Gossip

**A/N: Well, here goes nothing. Not only have I never written a Shield relationship story, but I've never written a relationship story in general that goes beyond friendship. Therefore, I hope I've done Ambreigns justice. I'll leave it up to all my great readers and reviewers to let me know how I've done either way!**

**I've loved writing this story; I'd say it's actually been my favorite to write thus far. With that in mind, I hope you all enjoy, and please feel free to let me know what you think :)**

* * *

Dolph threw another cocky smile in Dean's direction, and it was all Dean could do to keep his fists in his pockets and away from Dolph's smug face. Taking a deep breath, Dean tried for as casual a tone as a frustrated man with his temperament could manage, "Something I can help you with Ziggler?"

"Nope, I'm good," Dolph replied, turning his attention back to packing his gear bag. Ambrose huffed in annoyance.

Turning face–or crossing over to the good side, as Seth liked to call it–had been fun, but the locker room change left much to be desired for the antisocial, hot tempered man. He was used to men that kept to themselves. In fact, that was the way he preferred it. But now, it seemed like he couldn't even change without someone trying to find out how his day was going, or if he was excited about his match against so and so...it was annoying, not to mention exhausting, trying to keep up with such upbeat people. Seth had promised he'd try to get Dean moved out, but so far, he was stuck with Mr. Sunshine–a nickname Dean had hand selected–who wouldn't stop glancing over at him. "If you've got something to say Ziggler, spit it out. If not, then mind your own business and stop staring!"

Seth always flinched when Dean yelled at the other wrestlers. Rollins insisted that they needed to be coordual in this new locker room. He'd pointed out that they'd all be working more closely with the other men in the locker room now that The Shield too, were good guys. However, right now, Seth wasn't there, and yelling at Dolph made Dean feel better, so he cut himself a little slack.

Dolph, alarmed by the sudden, threatening behavior, decided that perhaps it was in his best interest to get to the point of his open gawking, "Weeeelll, some of the guys and I were talking..."

Dean ran a hand through his unkempt hair, _well that's never good_.

"...and we were wondering if you...," Dolph stopped, and Dean saw the blond, bold, crass man blush for the first time. _Oh yeah, definitely _not_ good_, Dean thought anxiously, trying to will Ziggler to just spit out the words to get the awkward moment over with already.

Dolph cleared his throat and tried again,"We were wondering if you and Reigns...you know..." he said, using a hand flourish to try to express his unspoken point. Ambrose would have to see the trainer later because he could have swore that Ziggler's words, both said and unsaid, had made his heart stop.

Noticing Ziggler's scrutinizing stare, Ambrose tried to act as casual as possible as he immitaded Dolph's previous jesters. "Me and Reigns _what_ Ziggler? I'm not a mind reader, and I'm sure as heck not a man of patience, so use your words and let's speed this up."

"You and Reigns are, like, _dating_ or something," Ziggler finished sheepishly, his face as red as his bright locker door behind him.

Though Dean worried he would have a panic attack at any moment, he gave Dolph what he hoped was his best scoff, "What?! Where did you morons get that idea from?"

"Well, we were talking–"

"Yeah, I got that part already. This locker room gossips even more than the Divas do," Ambrose said, unable to control the sound of disgust that seeped into his words. He was, however, able to hide a satisfied smile at the hurt look that passed over Dolph's normally cheerful face.

"_We were talking_," Dolph said again, now more to annoy Dean than for any other reason, "and we thought that the way you and Roman work together in the ring, that maybe you two have a thing or something."

"Seth works with Roman and I too. Do you and your stupid love consultants think that's 'a thing' as well?" Dean asked sarcastically, throwing in air quotes for good measure.

"No."

"Then?" Dean asked in exasperation, rubbing his temples as he tried to fend on an impending headache.

"You and Roman act differently with each other than you both do with Seth."

"How so?" Dean asked, honestly interested.

"Well, for one, you and Roman touch a lot more," Dolph said. Seeing Ambrose begin to protest, Dolph tried to finish his explanation quickly, "Like when one of you gets knocked down or hurt outside the ring, the other rushes over to check on that person. Not to mention you two always grab each other's hands or touch each other's shoulders when you're in the ring together. You guys don't do that with Seth, or at least not _near_ as much."

_Mental note: no touching_, Ambrose thought to himself, intending to tell Roman the same.

Dean decided that there was only one way to fix this. "Well you can tell your friends that you're all dead wrong, there's nothing going on. Roman, Seth and I are just friends, and that's where it stops. And here's an idea, maybe pay more attention to yourself, and less to everyone else, and you might actually start winning matches again."

Dean closed his eyes. Even he had to admit, that last part was a low blow. It was no secret in the locker room that Dolph had been off his game lately, and he'd been struggling to fight off his bad luck, but to no avail thus far. However, Dolph had shaken Dean up, and he'd gone straight for the jugular where Dolph was concerned. He sighed as he had no doubt that Seth would make him apologize later.

This time, not even bothering to mask the look of hurt as he grabbed his now packed dufflebag, Dolph stormed out of the locker room, nearly knocking Seth over in the process as he charged down the hallway.

With a muttered apology, to Seth, Dolph marched off, leaving the other man to collect himself after the collision. Getting his bearings back again, Seth's face lit up as he saw Roman standing near the entrance to the locker room. "Hey Rome, I was looking everywhere for you. They have one of your favorites in catering today: sushi," Seth said, proud that his mission to tell his best friend the good news was now complete.

Roman just started at Seth blankly before turning around to perform his own storm off to mirror Dolph's. Seth stood, confused. He was torn between whether or not to follow his best friend and try to figure out what exactly he'd done to upset him. Deciding, given Roman's temper, that it was probably best to give his friend some space before approaching him again, Seth opted instead to try to find Dean. Maybe he'd know why everyone was acting so strange today...

_ Was it the sushi?_ Seth wondered as he entered the locker room, feeling an instant flood of relief as he saw Dean sitting on one of the black benches, his legs bouncing erratically, as usual. _Maybe he'll know what's up_, Seth thought.

"Hey, any idea what's bothering Roman?" Seth asked in way of a greeting.

Dean raised his head from his hands, and Seth noticed the ghost of something that looked disturbingly like hopelessness in Dean's eyes. "No. Haven't seen him since our match earlier," Dean said, recalling the brutal, but victorious three-on-three tag match that the three friends had recently finished. Focusing on Seth, Ambrose frowned, "Why?"

Seth sighed, "Well, I was coming in here, and Roman was by the door. I told him that there was sushi in catering, and he gave me a weird...I don't know, empty look I guess, and then he just turned around and stormed off. What did I do? He still likes sushi right?" Seth asked, the last question more of an afterthought.

Seth was startled by the look of horror that flashed across Ambrose's features. "Seth, how long was Roman standing there?"

Seth shrugged, "Not sure, at least since before I walked up. Why?"

Ambrose groaned, causing Seth's eyebrows to furrow as he saw his friend pale, "Hey man, you okay? Did you get hurt in the match or something?"

"I wish."

Dean put his head back in his hands, answering Seth's questioning look with the muffled story of the exchange between he and Dolph moments ago. It was Seth's turn to groan.

"What am I going to do man? I've never screwed up this bad before," Dean asked, uncharacteristically quiet.

Seth ran a hand through his two-toned hair, a habit he'd picked up from Roman whenever the big man was thinking about an unusually difficult problem. The pacing he was now staring, he'd picked up from Dean. "Well, lucky for you, Roman is a pretty forgiving guy. I mean, he's kept your around, and you've screw up countless times in countless ways," Seth said.

Ambrose's fist from balling up in his hair, as he allowed his anger and annoyance to color his words, "Yeah thanks Rollins, you're a regular Doctor Phil. How does pointing out the obvious help?"

"Well," Seth said, his voice softening, "The fact that you've messed up so much, means that Roman will take just about anything you can dish out. That means there's definitely hope to fix this."

Dean shook his head slowly, his hands still balled up in his hair as he continued to stare a hole into the ground, "This isn't like I forgot his birthday, or our anniversary or something Seth. I can't make up to him with an extra nice dinner and a great gift. I'm screwed man."

"A gift, that's it!" Seth exclaimed in excitement as the light bulb in his head went off.

"Heeellllooo, have you been listening to anything I said Rollins?! I _just_ said a gift won't cut it," Dean said. He hated feeling like he was being ignored, a feeling which caused his legs to start bouncing again in agitation.

"But, what if I could tell you that I know something you could give him that'd get you out of the dog house for sure?" Seth offered, wagging his eyebrows playfully.

"We already do that Seth," Dean sighed in exasperation.

It took Seth a moment, but he finally figured out what Dean was referring to. "Ew, no. You two are my best friends, and I love you both to death, but I want no details of any of that stuff thank you very much."

Ambrose looked up with a look of mock innocence, though Seth could tell that at the moment, his heart wasn't fully in it, "Not sure I know what you're talking about Rollins..."

Seth just shook his head. They didn't need to get side tracked, especially with this particular topic. "Back to my _awesome_ idea," Seth said smugly, "I think that if you gave him something that showed you really _do_ care for him, regardless of what he heard you tell Dolph, I think he would consider forgiving you."

Ambrose thought the idea over for a moment, then looked Seth straight in the eye. "Every once in a while Rollins, I remember why we decided you were The Architect of the group."

Seth smiled broadly in response, before Dean's darkening face took Seth's smile away.

"One problem though, what the heck do I get him? For special occasions, I have you do recon. Not to mention what I buy him is just stuff, it's nothing...I don't know...sentimental or anything..." Dean made a disgusted face even saying the word 'sentimental.'

Seth thought the problem over. Dean had a point. Being poor for almost all of his life had ingrained in Dean the values of making due with what he had. Even now, with the money he was making in WWE–which could pay for more than a few luxuries for Ambrose–Dean never spent more than he absolutely had to, and only on the essentials. It wasn't like he had sentimental objects laying around. Dean used things until they were such bad shape that they were no longer useful at all, then he stored them away just in case he might need them for something later. Seth sighed, a ripped up old sweatshirt or an old cd player weren't going to cut it if Dean was going to win Roman back.

As Seth paced, a back stage crew member knocked softly on the locker room door. "Um, Mr. Rollins? Mr. Reigns asked that I tell you he's going back to the hotel with the Usos, so you don't have to wait for him."

Seth reddened in discomfort. Clearing his throat, he quickly thanked the man and began his pacing again, this time more to avoid Dean's eye contact than anything else.

Dean was surprised at how hurt he'd felt, hurt that Roman had relaid the message to Seth instead of him. Dean sighed, _yup, this is definitely the maddest Roman has ever been with me, not that I blame him..._

"Well, might as well head out. Maybe we can think of something to pick up on the way back to the hotel," Seth suggested quietly, coming up with no better plan.

"Yeah, maybe," Dean said, his shoulders already slumped in defeat.

Both men collected their belongings and headed to the car. Dean grimaced as they approached the newlyweds Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella on the way to the parking lot. Those two always made Dean want to vomit. They hung all over each other and stared at one another with those puppy dog eyes...it was enough to make anyone sick. _That's it!_ Dean thought in excitement, finally coming up with an idea that wasn't completely hopeless.

Seth looked over questioningly at Dean, sensing the shift in his friend's mood without Dean having to say a word. Smiling, Dean asked, "Can I borrow the car?"

"What are you talking about? We're riding together."

"Actually, I wasn't planning on it."

"Oh?" Seth asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I need your help. I need you to go to the hotel and get Roman to calm down enough to hear me out when I get there."

Seth hated always being the peace keeper between the tumultuous couple, but if it ultimately lead to their happiness, he'd play referee and councilor every time. "Sure Dean. But how do I get back?"

"Hey Bryan!" Dean suddenly shouted, startling the lovers. "Can you give Seth a ride to the hotel?" Dean asked, having seen the pair in the lobby of their hotel earlier that day.

"Um, sure," Daniel answered awkwardly, glancing over at Brie who simply shrugged her assent.

"Nice Ambrose," Seth admonished as he walked towards his new ride. "Be careful and don't do anything crazy or stupid, got it?"

"I'm always careful _mom_. Don't worry so much."

Seth rolled his eyes in response. Yeah right, like he could _not_ worry about a man he cared about with the nickname "Lunatic Fringe."

"Really, I'll be okay. I have a plan to fix everything," Ambrose reassured him. If he were the type, Seth imaged that Dean would have been nearly skipping as he headed towards their rental car, leaving three speechless wrestlers in his wake.

"Um, hi," Seth said awkwardly as he turned his attention back to Daniel and Brie, making a mental note to get back at Dean for putting him in this situation.

* * *

**Well, Dean has an idea, that's usually never a good sign...in the next chapter (getting uploaded tomorrow night) we'll catch up with Seth to see how he approaches a very angry and hurt Roman, and we'll also check in with the Lunatic Fringe to see what he has up his sleeve to win Roman back. Stay tuned for chapter two :)**


	2. Planning

Seth thanked Daniel and Brie again, before leaving the couple and heading up to his room. Setting his bag on his bed, Seth decided to take a quick shower to give himself time to think of how he was going to fix this newest problem between Dean and Roman. Seth stood in the shower until the water was ice cold, but no brilliant ideas came to him. He was just going to have to wing it, he finally decided as he toweled off.

Once dressed, Seth went into the hallway and knocked on Roman's door, across from his own. No answer.

"Reigns, are you in there?"

Nothing.

"Come on man, let me in."

Silence.

Hearing no noise from inside the room, Seth finally took out his phone and hit speed dial. He'd tried calling Roman on the way to the hotel, but his friend had his phone off. At least this time, it rang.

Just as Seth was thinking of what he'd say in his voice mail, Roman's gravelly voice broke through his thoughts. "What Rollins?"

Seth, taken aback by Reigns' unusual gruffness, stammered a reply, "I uh, I was just calling to see what's up? I tried your room, but you didn't answer."

"That's because I'm not there," Roman replied as if Seth was a dim witted child.

Seth tried to keep the hurt from his voice. "Um, well, where are you?"

"Why?"

"Well, I'm bored by myself in my room, so I wanted to hang out," Seth tried.

"Hang out with Dean. I need some time by myself."

"I would, but he's not with me."

Despite Roman's obvious anger, Seth could also hear the sudden concern he was trying so hard to keep out of his casual inquiry, "Where is he? You were his ride."

"I know. I gave him the car and got a ride back with someone else. Dean will be here soon, but until then, you're the only entertainment I've got."

"Wrong Rollins."

Seth frowned as he suddenly found himself listening to the dial tone. _Nice Rome_, Seth thought in annoyance. Seth's brow creased with worry as he pocketed his phone. He'd heard the voices in the background. Things between Dean and Roman had finally reached critical levels as Roman was now taking refuge in the one place he'd promised Dean and Seth he'd never go again.

* * *

Dean made a mental note to thank Daniel and Brie for being so lovey dovey all time. As annoying as their public displays were, this time, they'd actually served a purpose: they're hippy, artsy attitude, as Dean thought of it, had inspired him.

Entering the little hole-in-the-wall store that he'd ended up driving past three times, a chipper, elderly woman greeted Dean from behind the register, "Hello son. Let me know if you need any help."

Dean, already annoyed from driving, simply gave a small wave of acknowledgment in response, afraid of what would come out of his mouth if he answered her in his sour mood.

Looking around the craft store, Dean felt overwhelmed. He knew he had no talent for any of this stuff, but if it helped, he'd make Roman a pot, or knit him a scarf...he'd do whatever he could think of to win the big man back.

However, the longer he was in the store, the worse and worse Dean began to feel about himself as, with every aisle he passed, another thing he couldn't do was added to his growing list. He couldn't draw, unless stick figures counted, and his painting skills were about on par with his drawing skills. Not to mention he couldn't even imagine how he'd figure out how to knit if he hadn't even mastered chopsticks yet. He didn't have enough of an attention span to do any sort of beading or stitching. In fact, the more he looked around, the more useless he felt.

His pacing between the aisles grew more and more frantic as his only idea for fixing things with Roman was soon turning into a flop. He owned nothing he could actually give Roman that had any value, but he thought that maybe if he _made_ him something, something that he'd actually put some thought and time into, that perhaps it might help towards fixing the damage he'd caused. To make matters worse, he had no backup plan if he couldn't find something to make; he had no idea how else to show Roman how sorry he was without it seeming forced.

Suddenly, a small, cold hand on his arm, startled Dean out of his brooding and self loathing. "You look like you could use some help son," the old woman from the front of the store said sweetly.

Upon closer examination, Dean thought that the woman didn't seem so bad. Her gray, wispy hair was done up in a neat bun, and her apron was decorated with colorful, intricately embroidered flowers. Eying what he hoped was her handy work with a needle, Dean decided that perhaps he would play nice and see if someone talented like herself could give him some hope of an idea.

"Um, yeah, I guess," Dean started cautiously, "I have a friend that I _really_ made mad. I want to make him something...something that lets him know how truly sorry I am...but I'm not really good at anything."

"Hm, well I can see how that could be a problem, if your plan is to make him something from the heart," the woman said gently as she crossed her arms over her chest, already making a list of possible solutions.

When the blond man had come in with his leather jacket and ripped up jeans, she'd thought that maybe he'd come into the wrong store. However, as she watched his trips down the aisles becoming more and more frantic, and watched how his face darkened with every aisle he came out of empty handed, something about him had made her feel compelled to help. Now, his icy blue eyes, shining with a mix of hopeless and heartache, made her determined to help the poor, disheveled man before her. "Well, if you say you aren't artistically gifted at all, at least that narrows our search a bit," the woman said, trying to inject some sort of positivity into the dejected man.

"Unless you have some stick figure projects, I'm pretty much useless at art," Dean said, hoping to narrow the search even more.

The woman thought for a moment, then her face lit up with excitement. "Do you know what color your boyfriend likes?" the woman asked.

"Sure, he likes–wait a second, who said anything about a boyfriend!?" Dean said, unable to hide his shock. Was he really that easy of a read?

"Son, I have two boys of my own, and I know heartache when I see it. Not to mention, if you had a girlfriend, you could just buy her flowers or chocolate. With boyfriends, it's a little more challenging to make up with them."

Dean found himself nodding along with her, amazed at her level of understanding.

"Lucky for you, I think I have just the thing to help you win him back," the woman said with a triumphant smile as she took Dean's arm and lead him across the store. Dean allowed himself to be pulled along, still dumbfounded.

* * *

**Hehe, mean ol' cliff hangers...I couldn't resist! Thank you for all the reviews so far, and I hope chapter two has lived up to your expectations :) Up next in chapter three, we get to find out where exactly Roman is, and how Seth plans to get Roman calmed down to hear Dean out. Good luck Seth...**


	3. Drinks

Seth frowned and cursed under his breath. _Sometimes being right sucks_, he thought to himself as he plopped down on the stool next to Roman.

"Go away Rollins," Reigns said, his eyes locked straight ahead.

"Rome, you know you're not supposed to be here," Seth said quietly.

"What do you care?" Reigns sneered.

"Hey," Seth said, raising his hands in surrender, "I'm just trying to look out for you."

"Well don't waste your time," Roman said, scowling.

"What's gotten into you?" Seth asked. He already knew, but he wanted Roman's side of the story.

"Nothing."

"Yeah, it sure seems like nothing," Seth said under his breath.

"Hey, you don't like it, leave. You weren't invited anyhow."

Seth was taken aback by the comment, but he masked his surprise at the outburst, choosing instead to cut Roman a little slack. Changing tactics, Seth asked, "Why don't we go back to the room and watch a movie? Or maybe we could grab some dinner–I saw a nice restaurant on the corner?"

"Nope, I'm good here," Roman replied, hugging his drink closer to him in the dim hotel bar.

Seth eyed the glass with disgust. "Roman, you promised you wouldn't come to these places anymore," Seth tried again.

"Yeah well, I guess I'm liar, just like everyone else."

"What are you talking about?"

"You, Dean, everyone, you're all liars," Roman said, his deep voice carrying through the bar far better than he'd intended.

Seth waved off the bartender as he turned his attention back to his best friend, "I've never lied to you Rome," Seth replied quietly, allowing the hurt to punctuate his words.

"Yeah? Well Dean sure has."

"What are you talking about?" Seth repeated.

Roman finally broke and told Seth about coming back to the locker room to change, and waiting for Ziggler to leave so that he and Dean could have the locker room to themselves for once. He also shared how he'd overheard Dean's opinion of their relationship: "Just friends and nothing else," Roman said.

"You know he didn't mean that, right?" Seth asked earnestly.

"Then why did he say it?"

"Come on Rome, you're smarter than that. You know why."

Roman hung his head in defeat, his anger suddenly evaporating into the same hopelessness that Seth had seen in Dean. "I hate this Seth. I hate having to hide everything all the time."

"I know you do man, but to protect each other, you have to."

"I know, but you didn't hear the way he said it Seth. I think he really meant it."

"Trust me man, he didn't. I bet if we go back up to the room, he'll be there ready to beg for your forgiveness. That is, if you'll give him the chance to?"

Roman nodded, agreeing to give Dean one last chance, as he stared down at his drink, swirling the straw. The motion made Seth uneasy. He wanted nothing more than to snatch the drink away, but depending on how many Roman had had before Seth had gotten there, a move like that could result in Roman knocking Seth right off his stool if he wasn't careful. Looking up, Roman followed Seth's gaze to his drink and gave his friend a faint smile. "It's just diet coke," Roman said. Seth looked skeptical. It wasn't the first time he'd heard that.

Before he'd joined with his two best friends to form The Shield, Roman had been a typical Indy wrestler bar rat. They'd go to the ring, have their matches, then Roman would always come straight back to the hotel, shower, then spend the remainder of the night closing out the local bars.

Seth and Dean weren't above a few drinks themselves, but when they got drunk, _if_ they got drunk, Seth enjoyed leaning on his brothers while singing annoying songs at the top of his voice, and Dean just sat quietly and brooded. All in all, aside from annoying their best friends, their drunken behavior was essentially harmless. However, when Roman got drunk, he was only a small nudge away from an eruption at all times. Dean and Seth figured that's just what happened when someone like Roman kept so much explosive energy under wraps all the time; it was bound to come out eventually, and alcohol merely facilitated it. In fact, more than once, the two best friends had been on the receiving end of Roman's drunken rage, and they had the scars to prove it.

All of this came to an end however, once they had become a unit. Dean and Seth finally sat Roman down and had a heart to heart with him. It wasn't an easy debate, nor was it without it's bargaining–Dean had to agree to give up smoking–but eventually they won a promise of sobriety from their friend. A promise that Roman had kept for years...until now.

Sighing at Seth's obvious discomfort, Roman took out his wallet, left a twenty on the bar and headed out. "Coming?" Reigns asked over his shoulder.

Seth rose and followed Reigns, keeping a healthy distance from his friend. "Hey, I'll be right back, just head up without me," Seth said suddenly. Roman simply nodded, only stopping once he got the elevators to wait for Seth. He knew what his friend was up to.

Heading back to the bar, Seth looked around quickly before he picked up Roman's drink and took a sip. _Huh, it really is diet coke_, Seth thought in relief.

* * *

**I always like Roman with a bit of a darker side, so here's my attempt at that. **

**Well, now that Seth has gotten Roman a bit calmer and more open to hearing Dean out, it's time for the Lunatic Fringe, and his gift, to work his magic...if he can...****The next and final chapter is coming up, and we all get find out what Dean has up his sleeve, and more importantly, if it's going to work. Stay tuned!**

**P.S. Thank you for all of the amazing and encouraging reviews, you guys are awesome :)**


	4. String

Making sure for the hundredth time that his gift was still in his pocket, Dean practically bounced around the elevator, unable to calm his nerves. If this gift didn't prove his feelings for Roman, nothing would.

All but tumbling out of the elevator in his haste to exit and find Seth, Dean knocked on his friend's door, a bit disappointed when no one answered. He quickly pulled out his phone and painstakingly text Seth, cursing under his breath at every mistake he made. He hated texting, and every time he had to do it, it reinforced why.

His phone almost immediately buzzed back a response, and Dean felt a pang of jealousy at Seth's texting abilities as he checked the message. Dean felt his stomach drop as he read: C_oming back from the bar with Rome. Meet you in a minute. _Dean let out a stream of curses as he reread the message, making sure that he hadn't made a mistake the first time. Roman had promised...

Pocketing his phone, and unsure if he'd be invited back into the room he shared with Roman, or whether he'd be kicked out to sleep in Seth's room, Dean opted to lean against the hallway wall, trying to look as casual as possible as the butterflies in his stomach swarmed. The fluttering ampted up to a frenzy as he heard the elevator ding, and he watched the two men approach. He eyed them wearily, paying particular attention to Seth, searching for any information that Seth could give him about his chances at making things right. Seth, a blank slate, simply placed a hand on Dean's shoulder as he passed, giving it a gentle squeeze before going into his own room. Dean took this as his cue to follow, but he was stopped by a quick shake of the head from Seth. Dean wasn't getting away from his problems that easily...

Dean turned back to Roman who now stood before him. Try as he might, Dean couldn't meet the other's eye. Roman simply turned around and unlocked their door, holding it open for Dean to enter. Surprised, but grateful, Dean quickly shuffled inside. Apparently Seth had done what Dean had asked: he'd gotten Reigns to calm down enough to listen. As Dean entered, Roman followed behind.

Roman pushed past Dean once they entered the room, and flopped down on the couch, waiting patiently for Dean to speak. Dean opted to sit on the edge of the bed and silently stare a hole into the carpet. Quickly losing his patience, Roman cleared his throat. "So...," Roman started, hoping to prompt the smaller man.

"You were at the bar," Ambrose said, almost too quietly for Roman to hear, "you promised Rome."

"I had a diet coke," Roman replied curtly, already having had enough trouble about it earlier. "Ask Seth if you don't believe me."

Dean looked up and searched Roman's eyes. They were just as shining gray as usual, not dulled with alcohol like he'd feared. Relatively satisfied with Roman's response, but vowing, after this was all over, to give Roman hell for even going back to a bar, Dean decided that he might as well dive in while the larger man was willing to speak to him.

"Listen, Rome, I–"

Roman cut him off. "Look, don't worry about it Ambrose," Roman said, missing the way Dean flinched at the sound of his name, "We're just friends. I get it. Sorry if I made this all out to be something more than it is. Believe me, it won't happen again." Well, Seth had gotten Roman to agree to talk to Dean, but he'd apparently been unsuccessful at passing on Dean's remorse.

Dean opened his mouth to reply, but Roman pressed on, "I'll be sleeping in Seth's room tonight, and then we'll figure out official sleeping arrangements tomorrow," Roman said as he stood to leave.

Dean shot up, trying to block the big man's path to the door. "Wait! Don't I get a say in any of this?" Dean asked in annoyance.

"I think you've said plenty," Roman said, letting the venom creep into his voice.

"Rome, that's not fair. I didn't mean anything I said to Ziggler," Dean said earnestly.

"Then why did you even say it at all?!" Roman roared in frustration, making Dean flinched back. Running a hand through his hair, Roman backed away from Dean and sat back down on the couch, feeling a small pang of guilt for alarming the smaller man. Dean took this as his opening to explain himself, and he didn't hesitate. "Look, you know what would happen if anyone knew we were together. We both agreed to keep our relationship to ourselves. Hell, not even our family knows, unless you count Seth."

"It still didn't hurt any less to hear you say it," Roman whispered, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

"I know, and I'm sorry you did, believe me, I'm going to give Dolph a beating for this the next time I see him. He had no right to say any of that stuff," Dean said, letting a wild punch connect with the wall beside him.

"And you did?" Roman asked, his eyes revealing the depth of hurt that Dean had inflicted.

"I had to tell him that stuff Rome. Listen man, I've been in the business a lot longer than you, and I know how it treats guys like...like us," he finished lamely. "No one would want to work with us or share a locker room with us...I've seen it happen before, and we're too good to be treated like that. I don't want to have to pick between a person I love and a career I love. I want both."

Though he had no intentions to admit it to Dean, Roman knew that what Dean said was true. However, he still had trouble reconciling the logic of Dean's words with the pain of them.

Seeing that he wasn't making much headway with words, Dean decided to pull out his secret weapon...and last hope. "Well, um, I see you don't really believe me," Dean said, waving off Roman's obvious claims of denial, "so I got you something to prove that I really do care for you, that I...I love you," Dean said, making a funny face at the words he'd never thought would ever come out of his mouth. He was surprised. Saying them to Roman was actually a lot easier, and far more painless, than he'd imagined.

Roman looked up at Dean, stunned into silence. He knew Dean's past, or at least what little of it Dean was ever willing to share, even to him. Reigns knew Dean had issues with getting attached, issues with trust...issues in general. This was a monumental step for Dean, and Roman wasn't sure how to respond without spooking the younger man.

Rolling his eyes at the goofy, stunned look on Reigns' face, Dean suddenly advanced towards him. Kneeling next to the big man, Dean said gruffly, "Give me your hand." When Roman didn't respond fast enough, still stunned by Dean's admission, Dean took Roman's hand himself. Reigns watched curiously at what Dean was doing, a wide smile spreading once he figured it out.

"Shut up," Dean said, not wanting his gift to be a big deal, but on the inside, the radiant smile Roman now wore melted his Lunatic Fringe heart.

"Dean, is this what I think it is?"

"Well, if you're thinking it's string, then you'd be correct," Dean said sarcastically, unable to help himself.

"But what does it mean?"

Dean sighed, _of course Roman's going to make me spell this out for him...I knew I wouldn't get off that easy_. Mustering up his patience, Dean explained. "It's proof so you don't doubt me again. And it's my version of a slap in the face to everyone else. Look Rome, I love you alright? And this string is proof. I even put a lot of thought into it," He finished the last part with a self conscious blush, flashbacks of his misadventure in the craft store coming unbidden into his mind.

Roman's smile only broadened as Dean's cheeks colored. He examined the string that Dean had tied around his ring finger. It was a jet black piece of string with little flecks of white here and there. The perfect mix, just like their relationship: just enough mellow to balance out the bold.

"I...I hope you like the color. I thought it was cool, how it has two colors, and I figured it'd match our gear, so you know, we could wear it and parade around with it in front of the whole locker room and no one would think twice about it. It'd be like our own inside joke," Dean finished triumphantly.

"We?" Roman asked.

"Yeah, we," Dean said, holding up his left hand to show his own piece of string tied to his ring finger. "I know it's just string, but if all goes according to plan, I'll be able to get you the real thing in the future. For now, I hope this will do," Dean finished lamely.

"It's perfect Dean. Really, I love it...and I love you."

Reigns was pretty sure that all the blood in Dean's body had rushed to his face that time. "It's...it's not a big deal," Dean stammered, though it was obvious that Dean was more than relieved that his plan seemed to have worked. "So, we're good right?" Dean asked sheepishly.

Roman rolled his eyes, "Of course."

Now satisfied that Roman wouldn't leave him at any minute, Dean put a finger to his lips, motioning Roman to be quiet, as a mischievous smile tugged at his lips. Curious as Roman was, he stayed quiet, as requested. Dean crouched and slowly crept to the hotel door, flinging it open quickly. Roman had to admit: the surprised look on Rollins' face as he came spilling into the room was priceless.

"I...um...I...I was just coming to make sure you two hadn't beaten each other to pulps," Seth stammered, his face as red as Dean's just moments ago.

"You're such a liar," Dean snorted, helping his brother to his feet.

"No!" Seth protested loudly, looking towards Roman for backup. Roman simply shrugged his shoulders, offering no help for the embarrassed man.

Seeing that he couldn't talk his way out of his eavesdropping, he decided to move past it instead. "So, what'd he get you?"

"Manner's Seth!" Dean admonished playfully.

Roman smiled and held up his hand. Seth looked confused. "He got you a string?"

"It's much more than just a string Seth," Roman said warmly, his happiness all but bubbling over.

* * *

**Hope you all liked the story, and thank you so much for reading, and a special thanks for those who took the time to review. As I mentioned, I've never really written any relationship fiction, so any comments on how I did, would be much appreciated. If I'm any good at this relationship thing, I'd probably consider writing more of it in the future, but if I'm bad at it, I don't want to torture you all lol. **

**P.S. I hope you liked the art challenge Dean's gift. I think the craft lady was very resourceful when it came to finally picking out something to help Dean.**


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